Magic
Magic is a mythical power originating from Equestria. Though it's true origins are unknown, there are theories that it was either created by the Ancients or they brought it into Existence from the Void. The colour of one's Magic is indirectly linked to the colour of their irises (Twilight has purple, Fielde has yellow, Crimson has red) though this is not always the case (Britannia has blue eyes, yet her Magic is red, white and blue). First discovered by the Ancients, Magic is an extremely powerful energy with connections to much of Equestria's environments. This includes natural resources like Magestone and Witchbane as well as some plants like Aura Daisies. Powerful pockets of passive Magic energy can also be honed to condense and intensify it. There are two forms of Magic; these being "Pure Magic" and "Dark Magic." Pure Magic (commonly referred to simply as "Magic") is utilised most commonly and can be done by having a "good" heart due to the connections it makes to the soul. This Magic includes abilities like Levitation, Teleportation, and Barrier. The other form of Magic is "Dark Magic" and is commonly associated with pure evil and shadows. To fully utilise Dark Magic, one must first "allow it into their soul" and it is commonly believed that once one accepts Dark Magic into their lives, there is no going back and they will inevitably delve into a realm of anger and evil. The Ancients began harnessing Magic in it's pure form to gain massive amounts of power, and used it in their war against the Elders. While they had more physical power, the Ancients were aware that the Elders' Psionic abilities were stronger due to their enemy's greater understanding of the power and thus they tried to create new soldiers. Thus the Ancients "uplifted" the Ponies from cattle to soldiers but didn't expect their new army to suddenly spread a Precursor-made disease known as "Carar" (later renamed Endeavour) to the Ancient forces, quickly killing them off. While most of the prominent species of Pre-Equestria either died or fled the world, the Ponies quickly mentally evolved via the Magic in their heads and became the dominant species. Magic is naturally usable only by Ancients, Unicorns and Alicorns. However Sector 115 and the Midnight Coalition developed technologies to allow for non-Magical individuals to gain access to the power in the form of microchip implants and wholly-automated drone systems. During the Great Pony War, the Unicorns had the upper hand due to their Magic being more powerful than an Earth Pony's strength of a Pegasus' flight capabilities. This power was outclassed by Vivaro however, who had access to Magic, flight, high strength, and electrical powers as well as control over Divinium. After the war ended and Vivaro died (his history erased not long after) Magic was not researched further but new spells were developed. It was also used commonly by Unicorns to make life easier. Magic can be physical, but can also take the form of a Curse, Charm or Hex. Curses are negative lingering effects that often cause disdain or adverse effects in the target, such as permanent sickness or a very complex and unique Curse known as the "Gorchev Curse." Charms are positive counterparts to Curses, and often bring good things like happiness and love. Hexes can be powerful but unpredictable, and are often placed onto inanimate objects rather than living beings for mischievous or good-willed purposes. Due to the "Gorchev Curse," the entirety of the Metro has a distinct distrust for Magic. This isn't to say they outright hate it; they just have a hard time becoming friends with Unicorns or Alicorns. However, Vladimir Gorchevski famously had a hatred for Magic in every form, deeming it "unfit for use" and "cheating." Instead, he relied on his pure strength and the army at his back. He had this hatred even though Commander Locke was a master mage, but never spoke badly of his leader out of respect. Magic was weaponised once the Dimensional War began, with the Midnight requesting many samples and volunteers to keep the research flowing. After Celestia withdrew all support, the Midnight showed what they were willing to do and did all in their power to acquire samples. Once ENDURE showed up, XCOM began dabbling in Magic and invented ground-breaking inventions such as the Aura Blade and the Aura Rifle. After the Dimensional War ended, the Midnight Coalition and Sector 115 received hatred from non-Coalition leaders for "bastardising" Magic and using it improperly. However the Midnight ignored criticism and made many influential inventions including Weather Controllers, Magical trains, and infinite ammunition generation systems. Magic entered CHS years prior to the events of Equestria Girls, though Sunset Shimmer was adamant that the presence of Magic in the world was her doing and hated herself for endangering the world. However after being told otherwise, she was less hard on herself. When a being absorbs excessive amounts of Dark Magic far beyond the normal threshold for survival and does not perish, they may transform into a "Midnight" state. This state reflects their sudden bursts of madness as they seek more power to grow stronger. This is first shown in Midnight Shimmer, and is later shown as Midnight Omega, Midnight Strafe, Midnight Locke, Midnight Sparkle and Midnight Strike. This effect does not always cause madness, as those with exceedingly high Will may retain their sanity. Continuing to absorb power (or achieving far more in far shorter time) will cause the being to either perish or enter a new, terrifyingly powerful form known as "Nightmare." This is only shown in Nightmare Sparkle, Nightmare Locke, and Nightmare Strike. In this form, the being is completely unnegotiable and cannot be swayed by Magic alone. Nightmare Sparkle was defeated when Midnight Locke absorbed the energy from her and turned himself into Nightmare Locke. However to avoid being a threat himself, Nightmare Locke killed himself only to be regenerated minutes later by his Magic, describing death as a "boring place." Nightmare Strike was a fear by Union Strike of CHS in that he would become all-powerful and a danger to those he loved, thus he beckoned Sunset Shimmer to kill him before he could turn if the need arose. When it did, she couldn't bring herself to kill him and he turned, destroying the Reality in his blind rage. After Dark Watcher "reset" the Reality he ended up killing himself seconds before turning, only to be revived by Sustain and be cured of the "Nightmare" state. Princess Celestia was believed to be the most powerful Magic-user to ever live, though this was disproven by the appearance of Twilight Sparkle and Fielde Locke, the powers of whom both totally eclipse Celestia's. The link between the three is disputed due to the Magic they hold being powerful yet different. Fielde has a focus on physical spells, Twilight was more of the mystical side, and Celestia was more of a controlling zone. The Midnight firmly believe Magic is capable of "many miracles, but also many misfortunes" and thus it is policed. While citizens are free to use Magic at will if they can, they are not permitted to utilise certain spells, Curses or Hexes. Charms are permitted as they are mostly harmless. Magic was the prime focus of a Unicorn named Starswirl the Bearded, who is frequently mentioned and referred to as one of the few masters of Magic, and a personal idol of Twilight Sparkle. While he had access to many spells, he apparently also made new ones including cross-Dimensional variants and imprisonment spells. His mysterious death is made clear after the character Reaper reveals he killed Starswirl after he was Hexed to remain as a living skeleton for all eternity, his Magic talents vanishing with him. Twilight Sparkle and Fielde Locke are heavily regarded as "masters" of Magic much like Starswirl was, and as such both are loved, hated and feared throughout the world.